Public Opinion, Policy Tools, and the Status Quo

• Author: Brandon L. Bartels,Jake Haselswerdt
• Date: 01 September 2015
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912915591217
• Published date: 01 September 2015
• Subject Matter: Articles

Political Research Quarterly

2015, Vol. 68(3) 607 –621

© 2015 University of Utah

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DOI: 10.1177/1065912915591217

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Article

In recent decades, public policy benefits in the United

States have often been delivered indirectly (Faricy 2011;

Hacker 2002; Howard 1997, 2007, 2009; Kettl 1988;

Mettler 2010, 2011; Milward and Provan 2000; Morgan

and Campbell 2011; Salamon and Elliott 2002). Most

notably, the tax code has become a preferred mechanism

of delivery for policymakers across the political spec-

trum: Tax breaks (or tax expenditures), which are func-

tionally equivalent to federal spending, have often

replaced more traditional policy tools such as direct cash

assistance. This trend has important and far-reaching

implications for the distribution of benefits (Faricy 2011;

Hacker 2002; Howard 1997; Mettler 2011; Surrey 1970),

the effectiveness and accountability of government (Kettl

1988; Kleinbard 2010; Surrey 1970), and for citizens’

ability to understand what government is doing (Mettler

2010, 2011; Toder 2000). Despite the magnitude and

importance of this trend, political scientists and other

scholars are just beginning to explore underlying political

dynamics. Why do policymakers choose indirect over

direct transmission of public policy benefits? And what

are the consequences of such choices for subsequent poli-

tics and policymaking?

In this study, we use survey experiments to assess the

impact of policy delivery mechanism on public opinion.

We find that Americans prefer indirect policy interventions

(specifically tax expenditures) to direct ones across three

different policy areas, suggesting that the public’s greater

receptivity to such interventions helps to drive their growth.

This pattern is especially pronounced among conserva-

tives, but extends to liberals in two of the three policy

areas. In addition, we demonstrate that the design of exist-

ing policies helps to shape public support for indirect poli-

cymaking. Citizens show the greatest preference for

delivery of benefits through the tax code in cases where

such programs are well established and accepted as a pol-

icy tool. In situations in which direct government delivery

of benefits is common, the public is less enthused about

delivery of benefits through the tax code, while prefer-

ences over policy design fall in between the two extremes

for novel or unfamiliar programs. These patterns are more

pronounced for individuals more likely to be familiar

591217PRQXXX10.1177/1065912915591217Political Research QuarterlyHaselswerdt and Bartels

research-article2015

1University of Missouri, Columbia, USA

2University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

3George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jake Haselswerdt, Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy

Research, University of Michigan, SPH-II, M2208, 1415 Washington

Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA.

Email: jake.has@gmail.com

Public Opinion, Policy Tools, and the

Status Quo: Evidence from a Survey

Experiment

Jake Haselswerdt1,2 and Brandon L. Bartels3

Abstract

The method in which a government policy is delivered—for example, as a tax break rather than a direct payment—

could potentially have significant implications for how the public views that policy. This is an especially important

consideration given the importance of indirect policy approaches like tax breaks to modern American governance.

We employ a series of survey experiments to test whether citizens react more favorably to tax breaks than to

equivalent spending programs. We find that citizens prefer tax breaks, particularly when they are the established

means of intervention. When direct intervention is the status quo, or when any government involvement on the issue

is unfamiliar, the preference is reduced. We also find an interactive effect for ideology, with conservatives strongly

preferring tax breaks to direct intervention, though the effect is still present among liberals. This study establishes the

importance of delivery mechanism to citizens’ policy preferences and suggests that the policy status quo structures

citizens’ perceptions of policy proposals.

Keywords

submerged state, public opinion, public policy, tax expenditures, policy tools